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The «General Radio Frequency Centre» Federal State Unitary Enterprise (FSUE «GRFC») was established pursuant to RF Government Decree No. 1002 dated 25.12.2000 "On the State Radio Frequency Service under the Ministry for Communications and Informatization of the Russian Federation" and Directive No. 627-р dated 14. 03. 2001 of the RF Ministry for State Property Management "On the establishment of a "General Radio Frequency Centre" Federal State Unitary Enterprise"".

The General Radio Frequency Centre is part of the Radio Frequency Service, which is managed by the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology, and Mass Media (Roskomnadzor).

At present, the General Radio Frequency Centre is a sectoral expert review centre that supports performance of functions assigned to the Radio Frequency Service by the Federal Law on Telecommunications (Federal Law No. 126-FZ dated 07.07.2003) and the RF Government Decree on the Radio Frequency Service (RF Government Decree No. 434 dated 14.05.2014), as well as Roskomnadzor's principal monitoring, supervising and regulatory functions in the field of telecommunications, news media, and mass communications.

The GRFC operates to perform organizational and technical work to ensure proper use of radio frequencies and radio frequency channels, radio electronic facilities and/or civilian-use high frequency devices, conduct technical evaluations within its core work areas, and participate in providing government services.

The GRFC has the necessary technical facilities and expertise to ensure high-quality performance in:

identifying the need and preparing documents for international legal protection of frequency assignments or radio frequency channels;

evaluating usability of submitted radio electronic facilities and electromagnetic compatibility thereof with existing and/or planned radio electronic facilities within the allocated frequency bands and rendering findings based on EMC evaluation results;

establishing whether ship radio stations installed on sea-going ships, river-sea vessels, and inland waterway vessels are in compliance with the international communications treaties to which the Russian Federation is a party and rendering findings regarding compliance thereof with Russian laws on telecommunications;

forming call signs for identifying civilian radio frequency facilities (in the fixed service, the broadcasting service, the maritime mobile service, the standard frequency and time signal service, and the amateur service);

the GRFC also coordinates the use of radio frequencies during major public events, including international ones, such as negotiations between telecom administrations, forums, exhibitions, sports events, etc.).

The GRFC assets ownership rights are exercised by the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology, and Mass Media and the Federal Agency for State Property Management.

H i s t o r y

In 1992, a State Telecommunications Inspection (STI) was established in the Russian Federation to address regulation of the use of radio frequencies and radio electronic facilities (REF).
The principal functions of the newly established organization were to:
• assign frequencies for civilian radio-electronic facilities and issue frequency-use licenses;
• perform international coordination and registration of frequency assignments to REF;
• issue permits to operate radio-electronic facilities in Russia and to bring them into Russia;
• review and approve specifications for development and serial production of REFs.
Thus, the STI, as an institution of the Russian Institute of the Ministry of Communications system, only regulated radio communications, television and radio broadcasting, but not wireline communications.

In 1993, the RF Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications decided to enhance government regulation of the telecom sector. The need for that was dictated by the times, as the telecom market was growing fast, attracting many operators willing to provide telecom services.

On 15 November 1993, the RF Council of Ministers passed Decree No. 1156, On Approval of Regulations for a Service for State Supervision of the Communications Sector in the Russian Federation, intended to enhance government regulation of the telecom sector. The STI was converted to a Service for State Supervision of the Communications Sector in the Russian Federation (GOSSVIAZNADZOR), as an integrated system of RF Ministry of Communications agencies. GOSSVIAZNADZOR played an important role in protecting customer rights in the course of the telecom sector's transition to market relationships.

On 28 April 2000, the RF Government passed Decree No. 380, On Reorganizing the System of Government Supervision of the Telecom and Information Technology Sector in the Russian Federation, converting the GOSSVIAZNADZOR into a System for Supervising the Telecom Sector and IT Development (ROSSVIAZNADZOR), to monitor and supervise the telecom and IT sectors.

On 25 December 2000, the RF Government passed Decree No. 1002, On a State Radio Frequency Service under the Russian Federation Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, creating a State Radio Frequency Service, in charge of telecom licensing. The Government Decree defines the structure of the State Radio Frequency Service which comprises the General Radio Frequency Centre and seven radio frequency centres (RFC) for the Federal Districts of the Russian Federation:

the RFC for the Central Federal District (Moscow);

the RFC for the North-Western Federal District (St. Petersburg);

the RFC for the Southern Federal District (Rostov-on-Don);

the RFC for the Volga Federal District (Nizhny Novgorod);

the RFC for the Urals Federal District (Yekaterinburg);

the RFC for the Siberian Federal District (Novosibirsk); and

the RFC for the Far-Eastern Federal District (Khabarovsk).

All the Radio Frequency Centres are Federal State Unitary Enterprises, so they are not funded by the government.

On 1 January 2004, a new Federal Law On Communications became effective in Russia, underscoring the principle of equal access to the telecommunication services for all citizens of Russia.

On 3 May 2005, the RF Government passed Decree No. 279, adopting new Regulations for the Radio Frequency Service. As per that Government Decree, the General Radio Frequency Centre, the seven Radio Frequency Centres for the Federal Districts and their branches in every constituent region of the Russian Federation are all components of a single organization of the Radio Frequency Service.

On 12 March 2007, Presidential Decree No. 320 "On a Federal Service for Supervision in the Sphere of Mass Media, Communications and Protection of Cultural Heritage", was issued, whereby ROSSVIAZNADZOR and ROSOKHRANKULTURA were merged into a single Federal executive agency. In addition to monitoring and supervising the mass media, IT, and telecom sectors, preserving cultural heritage and protecting copyrights, the new agency was assigned the functions of managing the work of the Radio Frequency Service.

On 27 March 2008, RF Government issued Decree No. 213,"On Certain Aspects of the Work of the Radio Frequency Service", transferring the General Radio Frequency Centre and the radio frequency centers of federal districts to the jurisdiction of the Federal Service for Supervision of Mass Media and Communications and Preservation of Cultural Heritage.

On 12 May 2008, Presidential Decree No. 724 converted the Federal Service for Supervision of Mass Media and Communications and Preservation of Cultural Heritage (ROSSVYAZOKHRANKULTURA) into a Federal Service for Supervision in the Sphere of Communications and Mass Media (ROSSVIAZCOMNADZOR).

On 2 June 2008, RF Government Decree No. 419 transferred Radio Frequency Service enterprises to the jurisdiction of ROSSVIAZCOMNADZOR.

On 3 December 2008, Presidential Decree No. 1715 "On Certain Matters of State Management of Telecom, IT, and Mass Media Sectors" converted ROSSVIAZCOMNADZOR into a Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology, and Mass Media (ROSKOMNADZOR).

On 16 March 2009, RF Government Decree No. 228, "On a Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media", transferred the Radio Frequency Service's enterprises to the jurisdiction of ROSCOMNADZOR.

On 14 May 2014, RF Government Decree No. 434, On the Radio Frequency Service, approved new Regulations for the Radio Frequency Service. The Government Decree defines the Radio Frequency Service as an authorized agency for managing the use of radio frequencies and radio electronic facilities under the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology, and Mass Media – and as a single system of entities under the jurisdiction of the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology, and Mass Media functioning to ensure proper use of frequencies and radio frequency channels, radio electronic facilities and/or civilian high frequency devices, to review and monitor compliance with laws within the scope of activities of the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology, and Mass Media, and to provide government services.